This is IN THE NEWSin VOA Special English.South Sudan is preparingto declare its independenceon July ninth. Butrecent events haveraised concerns aboutthe peace processthat ended years ofcivil war with Sudan'snorth.Last month northernforces seized most of Abyei,an area rich in oil fieldsin the central partof Sudan. The southvoted for separationin January. People inAbyei were supposed todecide that same daywhether to join the northor the south. Butthat never happenedbecause of a disagreementover who could vote.The United Nations saystens of thousands ofpeople fled after northerntroops and allied militiaoccupied the areaon May twenty-first.They forced out troopsfrom south Sudan.Based on early reports,Abyei's former chiefadministrator said aboutone hundred civilianswere killed. There wasno independentconfirmation of that number.The north has rejectedcalls from the United States,the United Nations andsouth Sudan to removeits troops from Abyei.The area was a battlegroundduring the long civil war.That war ended withthe two thousand fiveComprehensive Peace Accord,or CPA, which led tothe vote in the south.On Wednesday, the governmentin Khartoum offered proposalsfor settling the dispute.The north called foran African force toreplace internationalpeacekeeping troops in Sudan.It also suggested a newjoint administration for Abyei.Southern officials reportedlyrejected the proposals.Two American officialsmet with Sudanese officialsin Khartoum on Wednesday.President Obama sent his topanti-terrorism advisor,John Brennan, and SudanSpecial Envoy Princeton Lyman.The Obama administrationsaid Mr. Brennandiscussed the importanceof cooperation againstal-Qaida and its allies.He expressed PresidentObama's deep concern overthe continued presence ofSudanese forces in Abyei.In Washington, America'stop diplomat for Africa,Johnnie Carson, called fortalks between SudanesePresident Omar al-Bashirand southern leaderSalva Kiir.JOHNNIE CARSON: "We aredeeply concerned aboutthe situation in Abyei,and in southern Sudan.We want to do as much aswe possibly can betweennow and July ninth toassure that theComprehensive Peace Agreementis fully complied with."Mr. Carson said theseizure of Abyei couldthreaten what he calleda road map for normalrelations between theUnited States and Sudan.It could also threatenthe possible removal ofSudan from the Americanlist of State Sponsorsof Terrorism.On Tuesday, Sudan'sUnited Nations ambassadorsaid his government seesno need for UN peacekeepersto stay in Sudan afterJuly ninth. This wasAmbassador Daffa-AllaAli Osman speaking to theSecurity Council throughan interpreter.DAFFA-ALLA ALI OSMAN(INTERPRETER): "Anyattempts to justify thecontinuation of the mission,such as the issue ofpending issues, would notbe right."Those issues also includewhere to draw the more thantwo-thousand-kilometer-longborder and how to shareoil money. Another issuebetween the north andthe south is Sudan'sthirty-eight billiondollar debt.And that's IN THE NEWSin VOA Special English.